There are many applications requiring the processing of data regarding geographically dispersed assets. For example, railroad system assets must be inspected periodically, and the resulting inspection data must be reported in accordance with Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) guidelines. Inspectors travel to the various track, wayside, grade crossing and signaling component locations to perform inspections and to record the resulting inspection data. In another example, census takers must travel to a plurality of residences to gather data related to persons living at the respective locations. Traditionally, inspection forms used to record such data had been hard copy paper forms. Systems currently being developed are able to record data in electronic format using a portable electronic tool. These systems improve the accuracy of the data recordation process by permitting data entry via pull-down menus, button selection for simple yes/no answers, automatic data range checking, etc. However, there is still an opportunity for erroneous data entry resulting from mistaken asset identification, and there is the possibility of fictitious data entry by an unscrupulous operator.
European Patent Application EP 1 081 659 A1 describes a method for inspecting objects located at spread locations wherein each of the objects is provided with a transponder. An interrogation device transported by an inspector activates a transponder when the interrogation device is located a short distance from the transponder. In this manner, some assurance is provided that the inspector has actually traveled to the location of the object to perform an inspection.